381 
GrENus NycTaLE—Brehm. 
Small size; large head, without visible ear-tufts; bill of moderate size, 
and nearly covered with feathers; disc nearly complete; tarsi and toes 
short, and fully feathered; wings moderate or long; tail short. 
NycTALE AcADIA.—Gmelin—Saw WHET—ACADIAN OWL. 
Wilson’s Am. Orn., IV., pl. 34, fig. 1; Audubon’s B. of Am., octavo 
ed., L, pl. 33. 
A pretty little owl, the smallest species of the family that inhabits Ohio. 
It is not plentiful with us, but may occasionally be found. Audubon 
describes this owl as often visiting cities, for what purpose seems not 
known. It probably feeds on insects, and occasionally mice; is strictly a 
nocturnal species, and nestles in trees, selecting the deserted nest of a 
crow, or asquirrel’s hole, or that made by the woodpecker. The eggs are 
four or five, and pure white. We have never seen its nest, but there is a 
single egg of this species in the Cleveland Museum, 
In Macgillivray’s edition of “Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom,” there is a 
very good plate of this species, under the name of Strix Dalhousii, or Lady 
Dalhousie’s Owl. Some naturalists are of the opinion that the V. albifrons 
is identical with this species; but Cassin, from a thorough examination of 
numerous specimens, considers them distinct. Its European analogue is 
the N. passerina, to which it bears a strong resemblance. 
The color of the upper parts is olive brown, with irregular blotches of 
white on the wing coverts; the face ashy white; breast and abdomen 
white, with oblong brownish-red markings; quills of the wings dark olive 
brown, with four ash-white bars; tail lighter, with two or three narrow 
bars of white; tarsi light fulvous; bill and claws dark. Many specimens 
are lighter colored. Length from 7} to 8 inches. 
SUB-FAMILY NyYcTEININZ=—THE DAy OWLS. 
Head moderate, without ear-tufts; wings and tail rather short; tarsi 
strong and more densely feathered than any sub-family. Form robust and 
compact. 
Genus Nycrea—sStephens. 
Large size, head large, destitute of ear-tufts, without facial disc; bill very 
strong, short, and nearly covered by the projecting feathers ; claws curved, 
strong and sharp, and nearly covered by the feathers of the toes; wings 
